


sing me (to sleep)

by touch



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Each Chapter Can Be Read on Its Own, F/M, Kinda, M/M, everyone getting together, i write for the gays and the gays only, it's after the war so they're all recovering, maybe i'll write it another time, not really feeling the sakuino chapter so i took it off, so crawl out of my ass and ignore it if you don't like it!, this is lowkey thanks to laz bc they inspired me to write a fix it fic., this is my fix it fic for the fandom, this is what should have happened kishimoto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 08:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14912163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/touch/pseuds/touch
Summary: Sasuke struggles to find his place in the village, Kiba battles his own affections, and Lee finds peace.Fix it fic; what should have happened after the war.If you don't like it, get off my ass and keep scrolling.





	1. i don't want to wake up on my own anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke tries to figure out his place in Konoha after the war.

Sasuke returned to Konoha with Naruto and Sakura, a heavy weight in his heart that felt like betrayal. Konoha was the reason he was all alone, the reason Naruto was all alone, the reason everyone in it was kind of alone. 

 

He didn’t quite know where he fit in now that he was back. Sakura patched up his arm and healed him to the best of her ability, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. He couldn’t look at them, they were too much for his brain to handle. Her voice was too gentle and understanding, begging for the boy she knew years ago to return to her. He knew that, deep down, Sakura understood that that boy would never come back; he’d been destroyed long ago with no hope of recovery.

 

When he walked out of the hospital and into what used to be the Uchiha compound, he felt the weight in his heart sink lower. His home was gone. His family was gone. _He_ was gone. If he could have, he’d have the decency to cry, to mourn his family once more. But in place of tears was a dry emptiness. He’d have to find another place to live, he supposed.

  
Dirt shifted behind him. He didn’t have to look to see who it was.

 

“I thought I’d find you here,” Naruto whispered. He took his place standing next to Sasuke in the ruins of his home. “We can rebuild it.”

 

“They were just houses,” Sasuke said, though he didn’t really mean it. They were much more than that, but not to anyone but him.

 

“That’s not what I meant.”

 

Sasuke looked at Naruto, finally. He had dark circles under his eyes and blood staining his clothes. The stub of flesh where his arm used to be was wrapped in the same bandages Sasuke wore. There was a softness to his face that Sasuke couldn’t hate. It wasn’t the pity or sadness everyone looked at him with years ago. It was understanding. 

 

No matter what Sasuke felt toward Naruto, he knew no one else understood his loneliness the way he did. Naruto had grown up without a family, hated by everyone who knew who he was, _what_ he was. It was a different tone of loneliness than Sasuke’s, who’d had his family taken from him a million times over, who was adored by people who didn’t know who he really was, what he’d really been through. 

 

When it was too much to keep his gaze, Sasuke dropped his eyes to the dirt. “I can’t revive my clan. Any children I’d have wouldn’t deserve to have a father like me.”

 

“Well, not right now. You’re allowed to take time to figure yourself out.” Naruto reached up to wipe sweat from his forehead. “I think the first order of business is finding out where we’re gonna live. Baby steps,” he chuckled. 

 

* * *

 

 

Naruto found a quiet flat on the outskirts of the village and, with a nervous smile, invited Sasuke to live with him until they’d rebuilt some of the Uchiha compound. To Sasuke’s surprise, living with Naruto was peaceful. They both woke around sunrise and sat at the kitchen table in companionable silence as Sasuke sipped his tea and Naruto slurped instant ramen. They each went about doing their own business each day, Naruto going to help rebuild buildings and sit in meetings, Sasuke sitting in the flat unsure of his own destiny - Tsunade and the elders were still deliberating on what to do with him. When Naruto got home, they sat down for dinner that Sasuke would throw together with whatever they had in the fridge. Then, they went to their respective rooms, pretending they could sleep.

 

When Sasuke was alone in the flat, he often let his mind wander. What was next? What would his fate be? Would he be forced into being a ninja again? Would he be executed? He figured the latter would be more realistic, but he didn’t know what to think anymore. His mind drifted often to darker things, like Itachi’s horrifying truths and the pains of being utterly, truly alone. 

 

Right about the time Sasuke would slip into the deep corners of his depression, Naruto would open the door with a smile and a bag of groceries for Sasuke to cook with or a handful of flowers from Ino’s shop. Then, Naruto would fill the silence and Sasuke’s brain would settle into complacency at the ups and downs of Naruto’s deep voice. Sometimes, between looking at the stove and focusing on Naruto’s stories, he would catch Naruto letting his eyes linger. Softness overtook the blue of his irises and his smile resembled that of a drunkard. He never knew what to do with it, so he turned away without pointing anything out, focusing on the meal. 

 

“You know, Sasuke,” Naruto mumbled through a mouthful of homemade ramen, “this turned out better than I was expecting.”

 

Sasuke scoffed. “I know how to cook noodles, idiot.”

 

With a curl to his lips, Naruto amended, “I meant us. Living together.”

 

And Sasuke had to agree. 

 

* * *

 

 

There were often nights where Sasuke couldn’t lay in his bed and pretend to rest. His head filled with too many thoughts, too many memories – or worse, dreams. He had to escape his room and get out somehow. Usually, this meant wrenching open the window of the living room and gulping in fresh air and the quiet chirp of crickets. 

 

One of those nights, Sasuke burst from his room only to find Naruto already at the window, incense burning in the corner of the room. The air was filled with a soft smokey smell, oddly sweet, and Sasuke felt it in his lungs. Naruto straddled the windowpane, eyes gentle and unfocused on the night sky, but Sasuke knew he was aware of his company. Sasuke stalked toward him and sat on the floor by his feet, leaning his head against the wall.

 

After a moment of silence, Naruto whispered, “Sometimes…in my dreams, I never save you.” His words echo in Sasuke’s mind, throb at his heart. “Or anyone, really.” Naruto finally turned his head to look Sasuke in the eyes.

 

“Dreams aren’t real,” Sasuke replied. He wished he had it in his heart to call him an idiot, to tell him to go back to bed and forget this nonsense. Sasuke knew it wasn’t nonsense, though, and he wasn’t in the business of pretending. He never had been. “In my dreams, my clan is still alive. Itachi is with me and he’s at peace. But even before I wake up, I know it isn’t true.”

 

“I never realize I’m dreaming. It all feels so real. It’s all stuff that’s happened before.”

 

Sasuke thinks of all the people Naruto hadn’t been able to save – Jiraiya, Neji, almost the whole village at one point, and, for the longest time, Sasuke himself. It was hard to think of these as failures when he looked at Naruto, he’d never felt like Naruto was a failure in the first place. “You’ve saved more than anyone I’ve ever met.” And he didn’t just mean people. 

 

Naruto looked at him for a long moment. The air was tense, but not. It was filled with a thick something, but it wasn’t unpleasant or uncomfortable. It was new, strange, but welcome. Naruto clenched his hands in his sleep pants before sliding to the floor in front of Sasuke so they were at eye level. He reached forward for Sasuke’s hand, lax in the cradle of his crossed legs, and linked their fingers together loosely.

 

The touch was new, too. It tingled down Sasuke’s spine, something he hadn’t felt in many years. A touch of kindness, of understanding. Of love. Something beneath his skin buzzed at the contact and he felt so out of his element. No amount of girls chasing him as a child could have prepared him for the feeling that Naruto’s touch brought to his chest, the way Naruto’s eyes didn’t look away from Sasuke for a second, the way his mouth parted in the moonlight. 

 

Suddenly, Sasuke blurted out, “I’ve never felt this before.” He’d meant to say he’d never _done_ this before. His stupid, stupid mouth. 

 

Naruto understood, though. With a kind smile, he whispered, “I’ve been feeling this for years.”

 

They both leaned into each other, breathing into each other’s mouths and trembling at the touch of lips. Sasuke felt his heart stutter with nerves and he felt like a kid again. He supposed he _was_ a kid, but he’d never truly felt like one. Now, he couldn’t stop his hands from shaking as they gripped Naruto’s shirt, couldn’t stop his eyes from fluttering closed as Naruto coaxed his lips into relaxed movement. 

 

Sasuke supposed he’d felt this for years, too. 


	2. don't feel bad for me, i want you to know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata lets go of her feelings. Kiba struggles with his.

Hinata spent a lot of time at Neji’s grave. Most of the time, she went alone, sadness in her eyes and flowers in her hands. Kiba knew she needed to do some things alone, had words to say to Neji she couldn’t speak around others. Other times Kiba saw the heavy set of her shoulders and took her hand with a gentle smile, telling her to lead the way. 

 

Kiba had spent a long time hating Neji for the way he treated Hinata. He couldn’t count the times he’d felt rage bubble in his throat at the arrogance Neji exuded, the snide comments and foul looks he’d sent Hinata. After he fought Naruto, though, Neji changed, became more kind and loving toward his cousin. Their relationship had grown stronger than any other Kiba had seen and he’d been happy for her. 

 

Seeing her like this tore Kiba apart, though. Before Neji’s headstone, they sat on the grass side by side. Hinata’s eyes overflowed with tears and her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Kiba wanted to turn to her, fold her into his arms, but she needed to do some of this on her own, even when he was there to lend her strength. He sat quietly and held onto her hand that had once been so fragile, but now was calloused and hardened from years of hard work.

 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She often spoke to Neji even if Kiba was there as an audience. She knew he would never judge her for this. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

 

Tightening his grip on her hand, Kiba turned to her and said firmly, “It’s not your fault. You did everything you could, Hinata.”

 

She didn’t look at him. He wanted to shake her, tell her to never believe those ugly thoughts, hold her tight and kiss her eyelids until they stopped watering. It wasn’t something he could do, he knew. He couldn’t tell her how to feel, couldn’t make her change how she was thinking. And right now, what she really needed was a friend, not a lover. Even if she wanted a lover, his mind hissed lowly, she wouldn’t want him.

 

After a long moment, Hinata sniffed and said, “Thank you, Kiba.” She tilted to rest her head on his shoulder and his heart skipped a beat.

 

* * *

 

It felt like too much time was available for Kiba to think. No matter how many missions he took on or how many dinners he went to with the other rookies, he always managed to let his mind wander. It would drift to opalescent eyes and a kind smile, a soft voice and a trill of laughter that lit him up from the inside. Just before he’d fall into unconsciousness, he’d think of those hands in his, the possibilities of brushing his lips against knuckles, maybe even her palm. The simplicity of it drove him insane with the knowledge that he could never have it.

 

Team Kurenai went to dinners together every Friday night when they could, but tonight it was only Kiba, Hinata, and Akamaru. Kurenai was taking care of Mirai, who was sick with some kind of cold, and Shino was on a mission outside of Konoha. Hinata picked at her rice and sighed with a wry smile. 

 

“Something on your mind?” Kiba asked gently. He couldn’t help it. He felt too much to _not_ be gentle with her. Akamaru, had he not been asleep on the floor, would have snorted at him

 

“Yeah,” she replied. She twisted her mouth back and forth without comment for a minute, clicking her chopsticks together and obviously stalling. Eventually, she admitted, “I don’t think I like Naruto anymore. Not the way I used to, anyway. Since the war…everything’s changed.”

 

Kiba felt his world slow. The words weren’t anything Kiba even dreamed of, let alone expected Hinata to say. It threw him off and he couldn’t think of anything to say in reply. Hinata had always loved Naruto since they were young. Kiba couldn’t think of a time she hadn’t been completely infatuated with him. 

 

“I know it’s strange of me,” Hinata went on, clearly sensing Kiba’s shock. “But we’ve all changed; no one’s the same. And now that Sasuke is back, I’ve realized that Naruto won’t ever return my feelings the way I always wished he would. I’ve never seen him love someone the way he loves Sasuke.” 

 

Talk of Naruto and Sasuke… _together_ didn’t seem impossible when Kiba looked back on Naruto’s hyper fixation since their academy days, but it was still something he’d never thought of before. “That’s…”

 

“I’ve decided to let them go. My feelings, I mean. Naruto deserves to be happy, and,” Hinata looked up from her rice to Kiba’s eyes, “so do I.”

 

“Hinata,” Kiba felt his confession almost escape, like his stomach was trying to vomit it out. _I love you, Hinata_. He swallowed it down. Instead, he offered a cocky grin and laughed, “I’m really glad you’re focusing on yourself.”

 

Hinata only smiled in return, changing the subject swiftly and talking excitedly about something Sakura and Ino had planned. Her eyes shined and Kiba’s sank to the grain of the table.

 

* * *

  

Kiba felt more at night. He didn’t know what it was about the night that made his heart swell in his chest and his brain lose higher functioning beyond desiring touch and soft words whispered from lips he wished he were more familiar with. Tonight he was on the balcony of his flat, nursing a cup of sake that certainly wasn’t his first. Or second. He felt his head float and his limbs buzz. 

 

“Kiba!”

 

Below him, on the street, he saw the focus of his thoughts. Hinata smiled up at him and waved. Kiba was too drunk for this. He wouldn’t be able to keep himself from confessing to her or touching her hand or, God forbid, kiss her. He couldn’t do that to her, she deserved to be treated with respect. 

 

“Kiba! Can I come up for a minute?” 

 

He couldn’t say no to her either. 

 

By the time she was in his flat, Akamaru had jumped from the couch to greet her and she laughed, scratching his head lovingly. The sound put light in the air and mirth in Kiba’s heart. She moved to hug Kiba and he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping her tight in his arms, burying his nose in her neck and inhaling the smell of her floral shampoo. He didn’t want to let her go, wanted to hold her all night. 

 

“How much have you had to drink, Kiba?” she asked, tease clear in her words. 

 

He released her and it almost physically hurt. “I don’t know what you mean, I’m fine,” he laughed, though it felt hollow. 

 

“I can see that,” she smiled. “This week has been so busy, everyone in my clan is going crazy with meetings. Since I’m the successor, I have to go to _all_ of them.”

 

Hinata continued on with a wistful look in her eyes and she walked over to the balcony. Kiba followed her, using all of his willpower to keep from reaching out to her. He’d been resisting this urge for years. Another night wouldn’t be impossible. 

 

That’s what he thought before Hinata turned to him once more. 

 

“Kiba, I just want to say thank you,” she said. Her eyes were strangely serious and her fingers twisted together over the bannister of the balcony. “You’ve always been here for me. You’re one of my best friends.”

 

His muddied brain didn’t catch the words this time. It was too late for him to keep everything in. “What if I want more than that?” Her eyes widened. “I know, I know, we’re just friends and you don’t feel this way, but Hinata…I want everything with you. I want to make you happy.” When she didn’t reply, he felt his body tense, his heart sink. “It’s okay if you don’t want that…It’s okay if you don’t want _me_. I just wanted you to know.”

 

With that, he turned from her and moved to pick up the sake bottle and cup on the ground to bring it inside. As he leaned down, he felt a gentle hand at his back, covered only by a soft sleep shirt. He straightened and turned to Hinata, sake bottle in hand, and saw her big eyes, flushed cheeks. She reached for his free hand.

 

“I want to make you happy, too,” she said quietly. “I want you, too.”

 

The sake bottle shattered as it rolled off the balcony and Akamaru began barking from his post on the couch. Kiba’s heart was beating too fast. Wasn’t this some sort of medical condition? He couldn’t find it in himself to care because Hinata was _here_ and she _wanted_ him. He slowly brought his now free hand to her cheek, and she shyly leaned into the touch.

 

Breathless, he asked, “Can I kiss you?”

 

At her nod, he leaned in slowly to take her lips. They were much softer than he’d always imagined. Now, out of the war, he supposed she could afford the luxury of applying a balm every now and then. It was short and sweet, and he parted from her with his eyes closed, refusing to open them only to find that this was all a dream. At the touch of fingertips to his mouth, he allowed his eyes to flutter open and lock with hers. They were endless and all too real. 


	3. deep in the cell of my heart i will feel so glad to go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lee and Gaara go back to Suna.

Lee woke gradually, the warmth of the dry air and smooth ins and outs of breathing next to him lulling him into consciousness. His body felt light, impossible. He could have attributed it to his nudity, what with his weights gone and only his skin keeping him from floating into the sky. However, he knew it had nothing to do with his lack of clothing and everything to do with the memory of his body’s movements the previous night, choked back gasps from his lover, the press of lips against his own – _finally_. 

 

Though it had only been days, the war felt like it had gone on for months. The days before it all felt so far away, like it had been in a different life rather than different weeks. When the fighting had finished, Lee had felt his body sag in relief. He remembered the crushing pain of Neji’s death, the warmth of Gaara’s comfort, the blue of his eyes when he asked Lee to return to Suna with him. They stuck by each other the whole trip back, and Lee knew Gaara wanted to keep him close, make sure his survival wasn’t a dream. The sentiment was shared.

 

Finally, when the light on his eyelids begged him enough, Lee opened his eyes to the slope of Gaara’s bare back. Lee felt dizzy at the sight of so much skin, pale and gloriously smooth. He brought his hand up and let himself graze Gaara’s hip, feeling gratitude swell inside of him at the privilege of everything he was now allowed. Touch, pleasure, love. It felt too good to be true, but too real at the same time. 

 

Gaara’s shoulders shifted as he woke, and Lee found himself entranced with the sight. Muscle shifting beneath skin, Gaara eventually turned lazily onto his back, eyes half open and clouded with drowsiness. A not-so-rare-anymore smile wound its way over Gaara’s mouth and he reached up to card a few fingers through Lee’s hair. Lee felt his face splitting in two, happiness coursing through his veins. This is happening, this is _his_. 

 

Somehow, they came together, Gaara nuzzling the soft fuzz on Lee’s chest, Lee humming contently into Gaara’s hair. His fingers traced Gaara’s spine and he wanted to weep at the simplicity of the contact. 

 

“I want to stay this way forever.” Gaara’s voice was muffled against the skin of Lee’s chest, his fingers drawing lazy shapes into the muscles along his stomach. 

 

“I will give you forever,” Lee whispered reverently. “I will give you forever and more.”

 

Gaara tilted his head upward to press his lips to Lee’s. Instinctively, Lee pulled Gaara as close as he could, pouring every ounce of feeling into his kiss, making sure Gaara knew just how long and how much Lee had wanted this. Lee’s body began to wake and Gaara groaned. Lee wanted every morning to be this sweet, slow like honey rolling down his tongue. 

 

When Lee’s hand made it’s way into his hair, Gaara broke the kiss, gasping, “Stay with me, stay here in Suna.” He sounded more desperate than Lee had ever heard him. “Never leave my side.”

 

At first, Lee’s heart pulled back, unsure. He had so much in Konoha – friends who had become family, Gai-sensei, the citizens he wanted to protect. Surely he couldn’t walk away from it all. When he looked into Gaara’s eyes, the sky opened up and swallowed Lee’s worries. He could visit the people he held dearly, he could protect citizens from afar. He wasn’t abandoning anyone. 

 

“Forever,” Lee spoke into Gaara’s mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short but sweet. i have the softest spot in my heart for gaalee.


End file.
